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Klout 101

What: Klout, founded in 2008, is a social media tool that measures a person's influence in the world of social media.

How: It uses a number between 1 and 100 called a Klout Score that represents a person's overall influence in social media. There are over 400 different variables that Klout examines. It doesn't solely look at friends and followers, but who exactly is engaging with the content being published and who it is being shared with.

Features: Klout uses features such as moments, topics, +K and perks to enhance a user's profile.

Moments show how a user's content has influenced others and how it had improved the user's score.

Topics represent the user's likes and knowledge. They are reflections of the user and what he or she talks about or shares via social media.

+K allows Klout users to recognize each other and their influence.

Perks allow a user to gain rewards from specific brands based on score, location and topics.

Why: Take advantage of the perks. With a variety of businesses and brands taking part in the perks of Klout, a user can receive countless freebies and opportunities. One of the best opportunities that the user has is the chance to market him or herself. It is one of the hardest things to do, especially if a person does not know anything about marketing. However, with as many social media users as there are, marketing is almost second nature. The key is to specify and narrow in on the strengths and knowledgeable subjects of a user.